


the hunted / the chosen few

by Aposiopesis



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-19
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-08-31 20:56:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8593399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aposiopesis/pseuds/Aposiopesis
Summary: Danny Fenton loves his mom and dad, his friends Tucker and Sam, and his sister Jazz (even if he'd never admit it to her face).There's just something he hasn't told them yet.





	1. taste some electric air

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: Canon electrocution, mention of dissection, and general morbidity. Nobody dies who isn't dead or half-dead in canon.

All Danny saw was vague, blurred shapes on a grey-blue background. He tried to squint to see them more clearly, but his eyes couldn't move.

"D-dude, — you —ive? — is —t fu—y!" the shape that was probably Tucker said. Danny couldn't discern most of the words over the ringing in his ears, but whatever was going on had Tucker scared.

"It's okay," Danny said. Or tried to say, anyway. All that came out was a breathy gurgle.

"Come _on,_ —y ! — _have_ to —!" the shape that was probably Sam yelled. The shapes all shook, and Danny felt a vague sensation of movement and dizziness. Did someone shake him? Was he falling?

"Oh —, Sam. Wh— if — never —" Tucker said, shaking.

"What's wrong, guys?" Danny tried to say. What he actually said was more like "Wassangaz?"

Even that seemed to calm Tucker and Sam down. Danny didn't know why they were so worked up over… whatever, but he did want to help.

"—n— Fen—," Sam said. Some part of Danny realized that was his name. "Don't — _ever_ sc— — like that again!" Sam said, slowly coming into focus. She looked worried. She was also above him. Was he on the floor? That was silly, why would he be on the floor? At least the ringing had stopped.

Tucker had his beret in his hands. "Do we call 911? That's what they always say to do in school, and it might be a concussion, but —"

"Someone hurt?" Danny slurred.

"Yeah, you!" Tucker said.

Danny tried to shake his head and managed a slight twitch. "Nno, I'm fine."

Sam frowned. "That's very Fenton of you to say, but you need help."

"Mom's upstairs. Got first aid. I'll go." Danny lifted himself onto his arms, which felt like jelly, only less load-bearing.

"No!" Sam said suddenly, catching him before he hit the floor.

Danny laughed. "How'd your hand get there?" he asked, gesturing to the black-nailed hand currently a foot above his face.

Sam and Tucker looked at each other. "At least we're up to full sentences now," Tucker said as Danny blacked out again.

 

When Danny opened his eyes, he was sitting upright against the wall. Sam and Tucker were sitting beside him.

"Alright, space case, do you know where you are?" Sam asked.

Danny frowned. "In the basement?"

Sam nodded. "That's right. Do you remember why you're in the basement?"

This one took a second. "Was gonna show you the portal." Danny turned his head abruptly to see the green swirling vortex to one side. He raised a finger and stretched out an arm dramatically. "There it is!" Had it always been so green and warm? Somehow, it seemed inviting.

"Do you remember what happened when you went into the portal?" Tucker asked.

"Oh yeah, Sam said I couldn't have Dad on my suit, and then I…" Danny rubbed his head. "I think I pushed a button."

"Now we're getting somewhere," Tucker said. "What happened when you pushed the button?"

"It hurt a lot, and then I was on the floor." Danny couldn't remember more than that, which was starting to trouble him. "How'd I get there?"

Tucker grimaced. "We tried to pull you out when you started screaming."

Danny felt the ghost of a memory pull at him. "Screaming?"

"Do you feel… different at all?" Sam asked. Danny couldn't read the expression on her face.

He laughed. "Nope." But the way it came out made him pause.

"Nnope. Noope. No-ope," he said experimentally. "What's up with my voice?"

"It might be easier if we show you," Tucker said.

Tucker and Sam hoisted him up and helped him walk over to the mirror.

 

The coloration was all wrong — the face in the mirror had paper-white hair sticking up at odd angles and eyes like the star stickers on his bedroom ceiling and pallid skin covered in little lines he couldn't puzzle out — and it didn't even look like him when one accounted for that — but somehow the him in the mirror didn't feel like a stranger.

"I look —" Danny started.

"Like a ghost? Yeah," Sam said. "I'm not kidding. When we tried to pull you out, you kept falling through our fingers."

"I was going to call 911," Tucker said, "but what would we say when they asked for ID, or why you were down here, or how you were hurt? Your own parents wouldn't recognize you right now, and that could get you locked up or worse."

Sam put a hand on Danny's shoulder. "I want you to know we're here for you. If you need somewhere to stay, you can always stay with me. And we're not going to see you as any less of a —"

Danny shook his head, successfully this time. "I'm fine, Sam."

"You're sure?"

He really did like how he looked now, but what Tucker was saying was slowly sinking in. _Your own parents wouldn't recognize you right now._ And Danny wouldn't have faulted them for it.

He couldn't slap on some sunglasses and shrug this off as Sam bleaching his hair. At the best, his parents would call the cops. At worst…

_"Don't worry, kids! If a ghost ever gets in this house, your mother and I will rip it apart molecule by molecule!"_

_"Jack, you know we need to dissect them to get usable data…"_

Danny gulped. "Can I change my answer?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I'll be posting Ch. 2 in a few minutes. If you liked it, kudos and comments would be lovely!


	2. we're in a freefall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: Medical talk, mental illness-based insults (no slurs), misgendering.

Danny put his hands to his temples. "Mom and Dad are going to _kill_ me! And I have no idea if that's an exaggeration!"

"Hey, come on," Tucker said. "We're not going to let _anything_ happen to you."

"Really?" Danny said. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Two normal fourteen-year-olds and a baby ghost versus two experienced ghost hunters?

Sam smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, we're not going to abandon you just cause you're a little different. It's not like we were the pinnacle of normalcy before this."

Tucker patted Danny on the back. "Yeah, we can work this out together. Ghost or no ghost."

Danny suddenly felt like he was next to a staticky balloon. A light passed over his eyes.

"What just happened?" Danny asked. "I feel heavy."

"You — you changed back to normal!" Sam said.

Tucker tapped something into his PDA. "Okay, this is too weird. I'm looking up anything that could've caused this. Any suggestions?"

Danny shrugged weakly. "Ghosts, I guess. I don't know any more about this than —" The lights and static sensation returned. "— you do," he finished in the ghost's voice.

Then he started sinking into the floor.

 

Danny couldn't see anything, but he could feel himself. It wasn't that he felt gravity like he normally did, but somehow, he knew he was rapidly going down.

He wasn't sure how much time he spent under the lab. A small part of him wanted to stay where it was cool, dark, and peaceful. The rest was terrified and instinctually scrambling for a handhold.

_Up!_ he thought. _Go up!_

He suddenly shot upwards into the lab, where Sam and Tucker were on their hands and knees over the spot he'd fallen through. Danny became solid just in time to hit the ceiling on the other side of the room.

Tucker jumped back. "Aah! Don't scare us like that!"

Danny rubbed his head. "Sorry, Tuck. It wasn't on purpose. Apparently I can walk through walls and fly, but only when it's inconvenient."

Trying to land, he smacked his head into a wall again. "Ow. The flying is easier."

As he fell, he felt the static.

"Can you control the change?" Sam asked.

Danny tried to remember the feeling — his extremities numbing and sparking, his hair standing on end, his vision consumed by light.

"Come on!" he said to nobody in particular. "Go ghost!"

His hand lighted up for a second, then faded. "Signs point to 'no,'" he said. "But I think I could with some practice."

Sam and Tucker looked at each other with concern.

"I mean, this is _classic_ origin story stuff, guys," Danny said. "When I go ghost, I change from my mild-mannered secret identity to… Danny Phantom!"

"Are you messing with us right now?" Tucker asked.

"I'm honestly not sure," Danny admitted.

"And you want us to call you 'Danny Phantom' when you're a ghost?" Sam asked.

Tucker put his hand on his chin. "I guess it could work. Not sure about the 'Danny' part."

"Don't listen to him," Sam said. "Nobody should decide that but you."

The first day of sixth grade, Sam had shown up with long hair and a black skirt. At lunch, she'd stood on top of a cafeteria table and yelled to the rest of Lunch Period A, "Hey, everybody! I'm a girl! My name is Sam! End of story!" She'd described the ensuing detention as "totally worth it."

Danny admired her for doing that. Maybe he could be as brave.

"Well, I need to call myself something, right?" He laughed awkwardly.

"How about we just go find your mom's first aid kit?" Tucker said.

 

Maddie clucked over Danny, whose head was in her lap. "Sweetie, you and your friends have to be more careful around all that equipment. Sure, it's 'just' a bruise, but it could have been really serious! What if you'd been electrocuted? Or zapped with an ecto-ray?"

"Yeah, what if," Danny mumbled, adjusting his ice pack. _What if I'd died for real?_

"It's okay if you're having a lot of emotions about this," Jazz said, looking up from _Conspiracy Theorists and You: Positive Interactions with Implausible Viewpoints_. "Injuries can be traumatic, especially for someone at your developmental stage."

"Jazz, I tripped and hit my head. Stop trying to psychoanalyze me." Danny hoped he sounded calmer than he felt.

"If you ever need to talk —"

"Last I checked, Jazz, you have to actually _graduate college_ to be a therapist."

"Honestly, Danny, you should take neuroscience more seriously. Who do you think designed Concerta? Or Wellbutrin?"

"Ooh, you remembered my prescriptions!" Danny rolled his eyes. "Just cause I take some medicines doesn't mean I have to know everything about them."

"No, but you should at least appreciate the science as both a fellow enthusiast and a consumer."

"I like _space_. Not brains. Speaking of brains, don't you have a light switch to flick or something?"

"Don't be mean to Jazz, honey," Maddie said.

" _Fine_."

"Ladies! You'll never believe this!"shouted a booming voice from just outside the room.

Maddie, Jazz, and Danny turned to look at Jack, who was standing in the middle of the doorway.

"What is it, dear?" Maddie asked.

"The Fenton Portal! It's working!"

"Well, that's strange," Maddie said. "I didn't activate it."

Jazz slammed her book shut. "I'm not going to enable this ghost obsession," she said. "I'm going to my room."

"Hmm," Jack said, stepping to the left to let Jazz pass. "I didn't activate it either, so that leaves one possibility. Ghosts!"

Danny winced.

"Jack, sweetie, how would the ghosts open the portal from this side?" Maddie asked.

Danny sat up. "Actually, I've been meaning to tell you, when I hit my head earlier —"

Maddie snapped. "Of course — percussive maintenance! You must have inadvertently closed a circuit!"

"You hit it with your head until it worked?!" Jack grinned and pulled Danny into a bear hug. "Angelina Fenton, you're your father's daughter!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me! Please leave comments and/or kudos if you liked it!
> 
> I promise if you haven't gotten what's going on yet, it'll be clearer by the end of Ch. 3.


	3. we want some night magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: discussion of needles, food, and blood (but not at the same time); misgendering.

Jack grinned. "So, Angie! You and your little friends want to hunt ghosts."

Danny smiled awkwardly. "Uh, actually, Dad, I want to be an astronaut." _And my name's not Angie_ , he thought.

Sam made some excuse about cellphones, and Tucker said something about charisma. Danny wasn't really listening because of course the Fenton Portal _had_ to open right then, and he was a bit busy rescuing Sam and Tucker from ectopuses to pay attention to what anyone was saying.

Somehow, Jack didn't even notice, which Danny was grateful for, but this wasn't the first time his dad had failed to notice the ghost boy in the room. Meanwhile, his mom was too convinced of her "daughter's" humanity to see the obvious in front of her.

 _Would they even know if I didn't tell them?_ he wondered. The question was multifaceted.

 

"I think I should tell them," Danny said.

Sam scoffed. "What? Why? Parents don't get it."

Danny kicked a stray piece of paper. "Maybe they'd be able to help. Maybe there's something, uh, chemical they could do."

Sam made a face. "What, like they stick you with a needle and suddenly no more you-know-what?"

"I don't know, maybe?"

"Your parents aren't exactly medical professionals. What if they made it worse?"

Tucker shuddered. "Can we maybe not talk about this right now?"

Sam facepalmed. "Right, you have a thing about hospitals. Sorry."

"Anyway," Danny said, accidentally walking through a trash can, "I just wonder if they might be able to fix me."

Sam put her hands on his shoulders. "Danny, it's okay to be different, and it's okay to change. Sometimes change is for the better! Like how I convinced the school cafeteria to go vegan and gluten-free for the week. It's healthy, it's good for the environment, and it's kosher!"

Tucker gasped. "Wait, _what?_ No meat for a week?!"

"Or eggs, milk, honey, wheat — except for wheatgrass…"

Danny did a double take. "No wheat?"

Tucker put his head in his hands. "This has to be a cruel joke."

"Come on, Tuck, I bet you'll _love_ BBQ tempeh burgers with mung bean sprouts and rice buns if you give them a chance!"

"That's it," Tucker moaned. "I'm going to starve."

 

Tucker, Sam, and Danny piled into Danny's room to pore over the books, magazines, and newspaper articles they'd gathered on the subject of ghosts. Sam had stopped by the Skulk and Lurk, Danny had raided his parents' collection, and Tucker had spent a good hour and a half on Amazon.

" _A Goth's Gory Guide to Ghosts_ says ghosts can make walls bleed at will," Sam said. "Sounds cool. Confirm or deny?"

Danny thought for a second. "I've seen food ghosts and water ghosts, so I wouldn't be surprised if some could. I've never seen it happen or, uh, had reason to try myself."

Sam wrote something in the notebook labeled "PLAUSIBLE."

" _Scientific Ectology_ says ghosts are attracted to green lights," Tucker said. "Been hanging around any traffic signals lately?"

"Ha," Danny said. "They're probably mixing up normal green lightbulbs and ghost lights. There's some kind of radiation in the Ghost Zone that ghosts need like humans need food, and there aren't many sources of it in our dimension. If you put it in a lightbulb or a candle, it'll glow faintly green."

Sam perked up. "So ghosts are like plants!"

Danny shrugged. "I'd never thought about it like that, but sure."

Tucker wrote something in the notebook labeled "BUSTED," then did the same in the notebook labeled "CONFIRMED." "So do you need it too, since you're half-ghost?"

"Yup," Danny said. He put down _So Your Vehicle Is Haunted!_ and pointed to a statue of a cartoon alien on his nightstand. "I've got one there. It reaches most of the room, even covered like that."

Tucker raised an eyebrow. "Is it on?"

"It's not the kind of light you use to see with. I'm glad my parents mistook the concept for an _anti_ -ghost light, or else I'd still be sleeping next to the open portal."

Tucker and Sam stared at him. "The open portal?!" they said in unison.

"Well yeah," Danny said, feeling embarrassed. "I'm not going to be any good fighting ghosts if I'm on a hunger strike. Remember how I kept passing out in class when I first got my powers?"

Tucker blinked. "Do you still have a copy of the design? We should probably make extras."

Danny phased his hand through his floorboards and wordlessly handed Tucker a roll of paper.

"Huh," Tucker said. "This is surprisingly straightforward. I'll need an ectoplasm sample, the frequency of your ghost light, and a car battery, but I could make some for Sam and me."

"Could you make me some of the candles?" Sam asked, not looking up.

"Uh, _Creepy Crafty Crypt Creations_ says they're made of ectoplasm and animal fat," Danny said. "I don't think either of those is vegan."

Sam sighed. "Shame. Ooh, this one's interesting. According to _Specters, Spirits, and Spawn: 101 Lesser-Known Paranormal Entities_ , a ghost's appearance reflects what's left of the person's soul."

Nobody spoke. Danny had assumed ghosts worked that way, and he was sure the others had as well, but he knew what question his friends were asking themselves.

_If Angie Fenton's soul looks like Danny Phantom, what does that say about her?_

Tucker was the first to break the silence. "Wasn't there a philosopher who said that every guy has a female inner self and every girl has a male inner self?"

"I know _I_ don't have a male inner self," Sam grumbled under her breath. Danny doubted Tucker heard her; he only could because of his ghost powers.

Tucker shrugged. "Well, since you're only _half_ ghost, it could be that that part of you was what became the ghost."

"I mean," Danny said haltingly, "that is possible, sure." _Or I'm a guy, so my soul is a guy_ , he thought, writing "ghost appearance reflects soul" in the "CONFIRMED" notebook.

Sam laughed suddenly. "This one's _got_ to be a joke."

"What is it?" Danny asked, grateful for a subject change.

" _Jay Frank's True Facts about the Human Ghost_ says that one way to deter ghosts is to paint your house blue because ghosts are afraid of water." Sam brought her hands up and wiggled her fingers menacingly. "Beware, Danny Phantom! I have a can of paint! Nigh unlimited access to the public water supply! And tickling fingers!"

Danny scoffed theatrically. "Wait, what?"

Sam pounced on him, fingers at the ready. "Taste my wrath!"

Danny started giggling almost immediately, saying after a minute or so, "You win, you win! Now stop, I still need to breathe."

When his friends left for the night, Danny collected the notebooks. He was going to put them under the floorboards when he realized something else had been written in the "CONFIRMED" notebook.

In Tucker's handwriting, it read, "half-ghosts = weak to tickle attacks B)"

Danny snorted and put the notebook away.

When he turned off everything but the ghost light, it did glow faintly green.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never found the "ultra-recyclo-vegetarian" thing funny. I've been to restaurants where literally the only meat-free foods are _some_ of the beverages; if someone likes meat enough, Sam wouldn't need to offer them soil for them to be appalled. So instead Sam has an actual human diet. (Also, I would totally eat that burger.)
> 
> I checked as best I could to make sure the meal Sam is describing is kosher, vegan, and gluten-free, but I'm not Jewish, vegan, or gluten-free, so if I messed up, please do let me know.
> 
> You know how I said everything would be explained in Ch. 3? Well, it turns out, for pacing, it'll make more sense to explain in Ch. 4. But it's going up in just a few minutes, so if it's not there yet, please be patient.
> 
> Thanks for reading this far! If you like the fic, please comment and leave kudos!


	4. feel their stares always watching us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: Canon-typical violence, morbid humor, food, misgendering

"Did something happen before class?" Tucker asked. "You were twenty minutes late."

Danny put his hands in his pockets. "Remember how I asked Paulina out to the school dance?"

Sam sighed. "I will never understand what you see in her. Was it Star or one of the lesser cronies?"

Danny rubbed his elbow gingerly. "Actually, this time it was Dash. He stuffed me into my locker."

"Yeesh, sorry. And you couldn't phase out?" Tucker asked.

"Principal Ishiyama was passing by when Dash was swinging the door shut. I couldn't just disappear with her watching me, so I had to walk her through the combination. Then she had to file a report on it, so I had to explain what happened again in her office." Danny perked up. "At least Dash got detention and I didn't."

"Serves him right," Tucker said. "He gets away with all sorts of stuff just because he's on the football team."

"I think the weirdest part of it was when he said…" Danny cleared his throat and did his best Dash impersonation. "'Fenton, you'd totally be in my top five chicks if you didn't dress like a dude and you had a better personality.'"

"So he wants to date your corpse," Sam deadpanned. "Classy."

Danny sighed. "If we ever find it, can I count on you two to let him down easy?"

 

"Hey, Earth to Fenton. Anyone there?" Sam waved her hand in front of Danny's eyes.

Danny blinked. He was holding a BBQ tempeh burger that he'd forgotten he was eating. "Huh, what? Sorry, I spaced out there."

"Do you want to play Doomed after school today?"

Tucker laughed. " _You girls_ play Doomed?"

"Actually, yeah," Danny said. "Sam's the one who introduced me to the game. She's really good. Plus she knows all the cheat codes and easter eggs." _I'm not a girl, though._

"Really?" Tucker asked. "What's your username, Sam?"

Sam crossed her arms and smiled triumphantly. "Chaos."

Tucker's jaw dropped. "You're the one who killed me last night!"

"Yeah, that sounds like something I'd do." Sam checked her nails for chips in the polish. "I don't really keep track of newbies."

Tucker leaned over the table. "That's it. You and me. After school. Level 11."

Sam cackled. "Oh, _I'll_ be there. You just try your best to make it that far, kay?"

Danny took another bite of his tempeh burger. It wasn't half bad, actually. Mouth full, he said, "Now this I gotta see."

 

When Danny got home, he heard a familiar grating voice coming from the kitchen. _Dash._ "But Jazz, she started it!"

Jazz sounded furious. "By what, asking someone out? Dash, I know my sister's a little different, but she deserves a peaceful scholastic experience just as much as you do!"

"It wasn't like I _beat her up_ , I just —"

"Trapped her inside her own locker, which legally constitutes battery! I know that because Principal Ishiyama called our house yesterday to discuss _pressing charges_. Do you want to spend the rest of high school in juvenile hall, Dash?"

"No, Jazz, I'm sorry —" Dash stuttered.

Someone — probably Jazz — slammed their hands on the table. " _I'm_ not the one to whom you should be apologizing! _I'm_ not the one who got hurt!"

Dash didn't say anything.

Jazz cleared her throat. "Read pages 124-125 and answer the questions. Call me if it doesn't make sense. We'll pick up test review next week. Right now, I want you out of my house."

Danny went invisible until Dash had rushed out the door.

He knocked on the kitchen entryway and walked in. "Hey, Jazz?"

Jazz looked up. "Oh, hi. How long were you standing there?"

"A few minutes. Is it true what you said about pressing charges?"

"No," Jazz said matter-of-factly. "Amity Park School District wouldn't know a lawsuit if it hit them in the face."

"Good," Danny said. "I mean — I don't want to deal with a trial, if it's all the same to you."

Jazz smiled. "All I needed to do was scare Dash, so consider it settled out of court, little sister."

Danny sat down in the chair Dash had recently vacated. "Jazz, there's something else I need to talk to you about."

Jazz's expression softened. "Sure, you can talk to me about anything. What's up?"

Danny fidgeted with his fingers. "I'm — I'm, uh." He struggled to find the words. "You know Sam?"

Jazz nodded. "Trust me, _whomever_ you love, I'm not going to judge —"

Danny waved his hands hurriedly. "No, no, we're not dating. It's just — she's, well, the way she talks about it is that she's a girl who everyone thought was a guy."

"Okay," Jazz said.

"And I'm pretty sure I'm the opposite — a guy who everyone thinks is a girl."

"Oh," Jazz said. "You're transgender."

Danny looked puzzled. "Trans what now?"

"Transgender," Jazz repeated. "That's what you're describing — someone who isn't the gender society decided they would be. Sam is a trans girl, and from what you're saying, it sounds like you're a trans boy."

Danny was trying not to cry. "There's a _word_ for that?"

"Oh, come here," Jazz said, reaching over to hug him. "You're my sibling no matter what. Explaining to Mom and Dad might be a little awkward, but I'll help you out if you want me to. Is there a name you want me to call you?"

"Danny," he said. "I guess it's short for Daniel, but that just feels old."

Jazz laughed. "Okay, Danny. Should refer to you as Danny in public? Or around Mom and Dad?"

Danny drew a sharp breath. "I don't think I'm ready for either of those yet."

"That's okay."

"Thanks," Danny said into his sister's chest. "Seriously."

Jazz hugged him closer. "No problem, little brother."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jazz really loves Danny. She doesn't say it, but she definitely shows it. We don't see that affection returned in canon enough for my tastes. Healthy sibling relationships, woo!
> 
> Due to life happening, I probably won't be updating anything for a week or two after Thanksgiving. I might squeeze in another update before then, but after that, please just be patient. I promise I'll write, I just won't be able to post anything. If you want to be notified when this fic updates, you can subscribe to this fic on AO3, [subscribe to all my work,](/users/Aposiopesis/profile) or [follow me on Tumblr](http://aposiopesis-ao3.tumblr.com/).


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